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Monday, November 19, 2012

Zucchini Spaghetti with Tomato-free Marinara Sauce and Walnut Sausage

This was supposed to be my dinner tonight – I was trying to plan
ahead, but like every good cook I was tasting as the meal developed and I ended
up eating it for lunch. I’m licking the plate as I write this.…

But that’s ok I made enough for two meals! (#benefitsofbeingsingle - ?)

Anyway.

I had an amazing weekend rep-ing Vega and the LA Green Festival. I met some
inspiring people, talked about hippie things, and learned so much about
organizations, companies and products I didn’t know before. (More to come on
this.)

The only thing is that I was there all day for two days and didn’t
have a chance to make myself any really hearty meals. I made up for it today.
Last week I was talking to someone in my kickball
league about this dish and decided to make it.

This is surprisingly easy, a great alternative to using traditional
pasta (where my gluten free peeps at!?) and a sneaky way to get more veggies in your diet.

Sauce

This is a tomato free macrobiotic recipe. Why no tomatoes? According to macrobiotic gurus nightshades
(tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplants) are high in alkaloids, substances
associated with hallucinogens, medicines, and poisons. They are known for
leeching calcium from the bones, are difficult to digest and cause inflammation/anxiety. I try to avoid them for the most part.

Basic Sauce

6 carrots and 1 small beet

1 large onion, quartered

1 celery stalk

1 bay leaf

1 ½ cups water

Place
all ingredients in a pot and boil for 30 min.

Puree
in a blender.

Add water
as needed for the texture you want.

That’s it!

To get a little fancy you can add

Garlic

1 tsp
basil or thyme

1 tsp
oregano

¼ cup
parsley, minced

2 T
miso

1 cup
minced seitan

1 cup sautéed
mushrooms

Mix and match these additional ingredients and add after you
puree. I love love love this recipe!

Zucchini Spaghetti

Another simple and amazing trick!

A few months back I invested in a turning slicer that gives
you the spiraled veggies. If you don’t have one use a vegetable peeler to make
linguini shaped “noodles”.

Prepare
the noodles (spirals or linguini)

You can
stop here and have them raw if you like!

If you
want them cooked – boil a pot of water and place noodles in for 1 minute.
Seriously just 1 minute so they stay slightly crunchy and don’t fall
apart.

Walnut Sausage (raw)

I was blown away at how amazing these were. I had a really
great experience as I was preparing these. I was working my magic in the
kitchen, my roommate and her boyfriend came in and said it smelled like I was
making meat (he knows I’m vegan) before I could even say what I was making he
said it smelled like sausage. It dawned on me he smelled the fennel.
The fact is that meat doesn’t really taste like much of anything, most people
who like meat dishes like the flavor, sauces, spices etc that are added to it,
like fennel in sausage. If you are not vegan and reading this (first of all thank
you) but also consider the alternatives, think about what you ACTUALLY like in
a dish, it’s probably the flavor or texture which can be created in a plant
based meal.

I got this recipe from another vegan blog: Fragrant Vanilla Cake. You MUST
go check it out. She is incredible.

Great question Candy Beans! Yes you want to soak all raw nuts. To quote nutritionist Kimberly Snyder: "When soaked and/or sprouted in water, it begins the germination process, in which the active and readily available amounts of enzymes, vitamins, minerals, proteins and essential fatty acids begins to be activated and multiplies exponentially.

Furthermore, there are inhibitor enzymes on the outside of the nuts which keep them safe from outside contaminants until it is safe to begin to grow, but these inhibitor enzymes also make protein assimilation and digestion harder for us. Soaking and sprouting your nuts and seeds increases their vital minerals and nutrition, while also simultaneously allowing the inhibitor enzymes to shed off the nuts and into the water (that’s why it is important to rinse them off well), making them easier for your body to assimilate and digest out of the body. This is great for weight loss and maintenance goals."